


White

by inkheart9459



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Arranged Marriage AU, Day Four, F/F, General Danvers Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-28 22:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11427546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkheart9459/pseuds/inkheart9459
Summary: When Astra's parents sit her and Alura down to tell them their respective matches Astra is just praying it isn't some old man who only wants her on his arm as the ultimate exclusive prize. Then, her parents throw her for a loop and announce her match to Alexandra Jer-My. A woman, Astra would have never guessed. Of course, she wants to meet the other woman as soon as possible, but life has other plans.





	White

Astra and Alura are eighteen  _ zehtol  _ when their parents sit them down. Astra feels lead in the pit of her stomach. They have already had the talk about which guild they will be choosing at the finish of their primary schooling. There is only one other talk that parents have with their almost of age children. Her parents are about to announce who they have betrothed them to. She prays to Rao that her parents haven’t given her and Alura to some of the higher born men who wanted them for the novelty of having a twin, a genetic aberration, on their arm. In the past year at their requisite outings to parties to meet other eligible matches she had been ogled by one too many people to feel safe.

Astra glanced at Alura. Her sister was probably safe. She had hit it off with someone from the House of El. Zor-El, she thinks his name is, and her parents could not have wished for anything better. But Astra herself, she had hung in the shadows as much as she could. She may not have gone through her basic training yet, but she could still tell when all eyes were on her. In a different context, she enjoyed it, but not there and not then. Maybe that had been foolish, maybe she should have found someone tolerable instead of sitting here worrying about just who her parents had picked. Oh Rao, she hopes it’s someone she can at least get along with if nothing else.

“So,” Her father says, deep voice reverberating in Astra’s chest as it always has, “we’ve finalized the matches for the two of you. The marriages will happen after you have finished your secondary education.”

Astra breathes a sigh of relief at that. At least she will have some time to get used to the idea of whoever her family picked.

“Alura,” her father continues, “Zor-El accepted our offer, you are now betrothed to him as Rao wills it.”

Alura’s face lights up and she brings her hands up to cover her mouth, trying to keep her composure. Astra reaches over and squeezes her sister’s leg. She deserves all the happiness she can have in this life. She’s her sister, her protector, her everything.

“And Astra, you will be marrying Alexandra Jer-My.”

Astra blinks at that. A woman. A woman, oh thank Rao above a woman. She almost laughs in relief, but manages to hold it in. Her parents are kind but would not take well to such an action. They are very much the product of old Kryptonian rearing. But Astra never dreamed they would marry her off to a woman. It was done fairly often, since reproduction was tied to the Codex and nothing else, and matches between houses that were advantageous shouldn’t be governed by if two families had opposite gender children, but she just never saw her parents doing so.

But the My’s were like the El’s, the highest rank on Krypton. In fact the My’s were strongly allied to the El’s. How in the world had her parents pulled off two matches of that caliber that tied them to two of the most powerful families with a strong alliance already formed between them.

“I don’t recall ever meeting Alexandra Jer-My at any of the parties,” Astra says quietly instead of asking the million questions that she has about what sort of political maneuvering her parents had just accomplished.

“You wouldn’t have,” her mother says, speaking up for the first time in the conversation. “She’s a few years younger than you.”

Astra’s eyebrows crinkle, and even though she doesn’t ask the question her parents answer for her.

“As you well know the My’s are allied with the El’s. Zor-El spoke highly of you to his family who spoke highly of you to the My’s. From there it was easy enough to suggest uniting the two families through blood bonds from the two of you.” Her mother shrugs as if it wasn’t as complicated as a game of chess where the pieces moved themselves of their own free will regardless of whose turn it was. 

“Their daughter Alex was the next to get married. We were introduced to her and she reminds us a fair amount of you, daughter. We thought the match would be good between you, even without the added benefits.”

Astra nods slowly. “May I meet her then?”

Her parents glance at each other for a long moment, communicating in the way that only long married couples seem to be able to before they turn back to her. 

“Perhaps it is best to focus on your own schooling for the next few years. You can meet her at her own entry into society.” Her father’s words are final.

Astra doesn’t know whether to be angry that she can’t meet the girl she’s going to marry right this second or to be relieved. She just settles for torn instead. Both sides have good points. 

“Yes, father,” she says obediently. She’ll look up what she can about Alexandra on her holocube later anyway. That isn’t meeting her, but she’s too curious to leave well enough alone.

“We are proud of both of you girls. You bring honor to your house.” Her mother reaches out to place her hands on her daughters’.

Alura smiles beside her, Astra just ducks her head. It’s the highest compliment that can be given, but she’s never known how to feel about that either. She just plays bashful and hopes that that is enough.

“Dinner will be in an hour. Finish up your homework now, girls,” her father says. It must have been enough. 

Astra stands as one with Alura, that synchronicity that can only come from sharing DNA, and retreats from the room. She’s sure Alura will shriek her lungs out after she pulls Astra into her room, and Astra will listen to how happy her sister is. She still doesn’t quite know how to feel though. Perhaps if she thinks of it as a good thing it will be. She certainly hopes so.

 

\--

 

**Four Years Later**

 

Astra finds herself back at a society party four years later, looking around for the My crest on the chest of a woman now finally grown. When Astra had been told about her match to Alexandra she had envisioned that the girl was one or two years younger than her, not four, but in a way she was glad to be given the extra time. She had finished up her year at basic training and gone on to complete another year at the officer’s school. She had done better than those of middle class ever had before and she had been noticed, all without having to look over her shoulder at a marriage looming.

Now, her first lieutenant badge shines brightly on her dress uniform and by the end of the year if she performed as well as she had, she would be a captain. Her career was on the fast track, and in another four years after Alexandra was done with her schooling she would be firmly set in her field. She had her eyes set on becoming a general, but for now that was in the future.

For now, she’s looking for Alexandra in a crowd of people, wondering if the match will be as good as her parents had said four years before. She’s seen pictures here and there of Alexandra, mostly school photos circulated in the news bulletins in the society and technology section. Alexandra was a brilliant mind and had ended up there on more than one occasion for winning science contests. Astra is glad to know that her future wife is intelligent, if nothing else. Someone dim would bore her to tears.

But no one at the party looks like Alexandra. She is sure that she has inspected everyone that is here, but nothing. There is no crest of My floating around the party, even if she hadn’t recognized Alexandra herself she would recognize that.

She moves around the party once more just to be sure, pausing to talk to others when warranted. Moving up in the military guild involves almost as much politics as being a senator. Astra had resisted for a long while, but she had learned to sacrifice a little social exhaustion for her goals. It would all be worth it in the end.

And there, after she turns away from a conversation with Argo City’s police commissioner, she spots Alexandra and stops dead. The pictures had not done her any justice. She’s breathtaking. Astra feels her heart beating hard and she couldn’t quite place why. She found herself walking towards Alexandra without conscious thought.

When Astra manages to look away from the other woman’s face she almost stops again. She’s in all white. Almost everyone in their final year of primary schooling adopts wearing the color of their chosen guild, white around the collar and cuffs denoting that they were not fully initiated just yet. But Alexandra is still in white. She either hasn’t chosen yet, or is rejecting very publicly the choice she is being forced to make. Some families are like that, forcing all their children into one guild or another. Alexandra’s parents were both in the science guild, perhaps they were forcing her to follow in their footsteps.

Astra walks over and stands beside Alexandra, at the edge of the crowd, looking out. She feels a bit of deja vu having occupied the same position four years prior. She just stands in companionable silence. She has no doubt that Alexandra had been told of their match before this party at least, if not long before. It’s most likely that she knows exactly who Astra is, so Astra leaves the opening salvo up to her.

“You know, I imagined you would be a lot smoother,” Alexandra says.

“Did you want me to come over here and compliment you on your beauty or your intelligence like half this room has already done?” Astra asks, looking at the other woman and cokcing an eyebrow.

Alexandra concedes the point with a tilt of her head. “Fair enough.” She looks over Astra thoroughly, eyes lingering a little longer than is strictly proper. Astra’s heart beats harder again. “So, you are Astra In-Ze. The military dispatches don’t do you justice.”

“Neither do your pictures in the news, Alexandra Jer-My.”

“Alex, please.” Her nose twitches in distaste. “Alexandra makes me think of stuffy meeting rooms full of old people.”

Astra finds herself laughing despite herself, a bit too loudly for the venue. People look at her like she’s lost her mind, but she pays them no mind. “Alex then.”

“Thank you,” Alex breathes out in a sigh of relief. “My parents still don’t concede to my wishes even though it’s my own name.”

“Parents are like that.” Astra stops herself from reaching out and grasping the other woman’s hand to comfort her. Not only is it not proper, they are engaged, yes, but not married, and she doesn’t know if Alex would even want to be touched.

“So they are.” She picks at the edge of her sleeve.

“Are they why you are still wearing white?” Astra asks after a moment’s pause to consider the question.

“Mmm,” Alex hums. It’s neither a confirmation or a denial, but Astra can see right through it, tracing where Alex gaze rests on her parents across the room, laughing politely in a circle of others from the science guild.

“And if you were to choose where would you go?” Astra asks, voice quiet. If someone were to overhear them, if they wanted to be difficult, they could take Alex’s vocalization of whatever guild she wanted to be in as an official alignment. Whoever did would have to be the most crotchety person to exist, but she was sure that there were some at this party.

Alex’s eyes land on Astra’s black uniform and stare at it for a long, long second, desire in her eyes, before she looks up at Astra with a significant look. Clever girl, not saying it aloud.

“Ah. I see.” The gears in Astra’s head start to turn slowly. “You know, for my next mission they’re sending me to a new planet. It’s a detachment of soldiers and diplomats who will make contact with any life there. The guild always keeps around a few scientist soldiers for such missions. They can’t be untrained civilians because who knows what could happen on such places, the few diplomats are already risk enough, but of course we have to know basic things about the planet itself for future study. So they train candidates with high scientific aptitude as regular combat troops before sending them off to finish their education in the science community, all the while serving Krypton on missions. I thought about it, myself, but the idea of high command appealed more to me. It takes someone special who wants to fight and learn all at once to fill the position and it wasn’t for me.”

She shoots Alex a significant look. She has no idea if that’s anything like the girl wants. She could want to go to high command herself, but this way Astra thinks that perhaps Alex could get her parents on board at least somewhat. Ultimately it is her own choice, but to not honor one’s parents...the fallout would not be pleasant. 

Alex’s eyes lit up and Astra’s heart soars. “Yes, I suppose it would take someone quite special to fill such a dually demanding job. I hope that those along for the mission with you are up to it.”

“Oh, I’ll make sure of it.” Astra’s smile is a little bit wicked. Among her men she was extremely tough, but not without reason or compassion. And if she liked to push them to their limits from time to time during training, well, it was for the best overall, wasn’t it? She pushed herself just as hard.

Alex turns to Astra. “Well, I certainly hope so, because I wouldn’t want you to meet an untimely end before we’ve had our time together. It’s beginning to look promising.”

“Is it?”

“It is.” Her eyes slip over to her parents once more. “If you’ll excuse me, I have something important to talk to my parents about. But Lieutenant In-Ze, if you wanted to contact my parents about an outing, I wouldn’t be opposed.” Alex smiles at her for a long moment before striding across the room like a woman who finally knows what she wants.

Astra watches her for a moment, taking in her form once more before she catches herself staring and looks away. She feels giddy. An outing with Alex. Where even should they go? She had a feeling that Alex wouldn’t be happy with the normal option of a meal on some neutral territory. It was easy to chaperone, but boring. Maybe a museum, a hike, something adventurous. Yes something adventurous. She smiles to herself as she goes back to talking to pompous windbags, tasting her bright future on her tongue.

 

\--

 

**Ten years later**

 

Astra looks over her checklist, adrenaline pumping through her. Right before launch was one of her favorite times, there was a sweet anticipation that few things could match. She glances around one last time satisfied. Everything was on the ship supply-wise. Her men would report at dawn for boarding and then they would be off.

“Everything is ready in the lab,” Alex says, boots making soft sounds on the metal floor.

“Ah, I was just coming back to ask you about that. Everything in the general storage is in order as well. Our men did well getting everything ready.”

“Of course they did. No one wants to anger the newly appointed colonel, now do they? It isn’t often that someone so highly ranking commands one of these missions.”

“Keeps them on their toes.” Astra smirks and looks around for a second to confirm they are alone before leaning to kiss Alex soundly. “And besides, I wouldn’t miss out on spending time with you.”

Alex blushes but draws Astra close. “I wouldn’t have you miss it either. Some of my favorite missions have been one’s you’ve been on with me.”

“Someone is being awfully sweet. One could think that you’re trying to curry favor with your commanding officer in exchange for lighter treatment.”

Alex snorts. “If anyone thinks that they don’t know the both of us.”

“That they don’t.” She wraps her arms around Alex’s waist, confident that they are the only ones on the ship. She dismissed the rest of her troops an hour ago and it was late. Everyone else on the base that wasn’t preparing for a mission or on watch would be asleep. They would be allowed some privacy at least for a little while. On mission they would have no privacy, wives or not, they would have to bunk separately. There really could be no illusion of favoritism at all, joking aside, or Astra wouldn’t be allowed to command another mission with Alex on the crew and she did not want that one bit.

Alex breathes a sigh into Astra’s neck, relaxing against her wife. “I still feel like it was yesterday that you were walking across the room towards me at that gathering.”

Astra tucks a piece of Alex’s hair behind her ear. She still thinks that sometimes too. But then the memories of the last ten years surface, the happiest of her life overall, and that feeling fades quickly. She’s been with Alex a lifetime in her mind and yet never long enough.

“I know. And where would we be if I hadn’t found you standing along the wall like you had a bone to pick with every single person in that room?”

“Not here. Who knows other than that. I’m glad you did, no matter what. This is exactly where I want to be.”

“And I as well, Brave One.” Alex snorts at the nickname that she had gained on their first mission together when Alex had rushed in where seasoned soldiers had feared to tread. “Happy Anniversary.”

“Maybe it be one of many more,” Alex says, completing the old Kryptonian blessing.

And Rao, did Astra hope the saying held true for them.


End file.
